SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A surgeon amputated a worker's leg to free him from a piece of machinery at a box factory, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
The man's name was not released, but he was listed in critical but stable condition at University Hospital in San Antonio. Employees at Bates Container, a facility that produces corrugated boxes, called 911 Monday night after the man had gotten caught in a machine. When responders realized there was no way to get his leg out of the machine they called for a surgeon, a San Antonio Fire Department spokesman said.
Officials declined to confirm the doctor performed an amputation, the newspaper said, but a reporter at the scene said the leg was cut off to extricate the man.
The victim was removed from the scene about 20 minutes after the surgeon arrived and was taken by helicopter to the hospital, the newspaper said.
It was unclear how the man's leg got caught in the equipment.
